be severe stress that leaves deep emotional scars requiring special coping techniques.1 The last part of the definition can sound remote and clinical, but it can become very real if we find ourselves responding to life with special coping techniques. For example, when I returned to the States I had a hard time relaxing, and loud noises startled me. If my wife came up behind me and touched me unannounced, I reacted violently. Those reactions and many others were conditioned survival responses I had